Overview

• The Universal Credit and PIP Bill cleared its second reading by 335 votes to 260, marking a 75-vote majority despite 49 Labour MPs rebelling.
• Disability minister Stephen Timms announced 90 minutes before the vote that PIP eligibility changes would be postponed pending his autumn 2026 review.
• Only measures targeting new incapacity benefit claimants and freezing the highest payment rate remain in the bill after successive concessions.
• Government impact assessments warn more than 150,000 disabled people could be pushed into relative poverty under the scaled-back welfare package.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces pressure to plug the £4.8bn gap under her fiscal rules, with tax increases in the autumn now under consideration.